Six restaurants in Montgomery County have been named winners of Wine Spectator magazine’s annual awards that recognize restaurants with the best wine lists.
Del Frisco’s Grille and Seasons 52 of North Bethesda; Jaleo and Morton’s, The Steakhouse of Bethesda; Ruth’s Chris Steak House of Gaithersburg and The Capital Grille in Chevy Chase all earned Awards of Excellence, the lowest of three tiers of awards the magazine gives out.
Wine lists given the recognition typically feature at least 90 selections, fit the menu style and offer “sufficient choice to satisfy discerning wine lovers,” according to Wine Spectator’s awards criteria.
The Capital Grille is the longest-standing county member of the Awards of Excellence list, having been on since 2010. It also features the largest selection and inventory of the six local restaurants, at 490 different wines and 5,000 bottles, according to its Wine Spectator awards profile.
Seasons 52 comes in with the smallest selection at 90 wines, and the lone restaurant of the six to whose prices were graded as inexpensive. The designation typically means many bottles cost less than $50, according to the Wine Spectator awards criteria.
Jaleo Bethesda has been on the Awards of Excellence list since 2014. Its wine list includes 145 selections, with Spanish wine as a strength.
Del Frisco’s Grille makes the list for the fifth-straight year, boasting a selection of 190 wines and an inventory of 2,120 bottles. Wine Spectator mentions California wines as the restaurant’s strength.
Morton’s, The Steakhouse, is also strong in Californian wines, and features a selection of 275 wines. The restaurant has been on the list since 2016.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House has the second-largest selection of the county winners at 400 wines, despite an inventory of 1,600 bottles, third-smallest among the county winners. The restaurant has been on the list since 2015.
The awards program highlighted 3,800 restaurants from 80 different countries, including nominees from all 50 states. Wine Spectator handed out 2,447 Awards of Excellence, 1,244 Best of Awards of Excellence and 100 Grand Awards, separated by the amount and quality of wine selection.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media
